Files for download

Simple item record

Women commit fewer violent crimes than men, with only one tenth of all murders committed by females. This is reflected in the fact that relatively little research has been conducted about women who kill. When women kill, the victim is often a current or former intimate partner. But why do some women kill an individual whom they have previously chosen to spend their life with? Are there any similarities between these women? This systematic literature review shows that a majority of women who take the life of an intimate partner, do it after having been subjected to physical and psychological violence by their partner for a long period of time. Former partner violence, and the imminent risk of being subjected to yet another episode of serious violence, leads to these women living with constant fear, horror and anxiety. Many of these women also experience a sense of isolation, which is reinforced by the fact they their partner often forbids them to work outside of the home. Women who kill their intimate partner often do so in, what they feel is, self-defence. Many of these women say that they killed their partner because they had to. Had they not killed him, they themselves would probably have been murdered.